Hi Marilyn and Susan:
Waving hello.
So nice to meet so many Lily Auction addicts. 'Can't live with it, but definitely can't live without it". Susan, I saw you bidding on James Hall's (mljomo) delightful 3 page list of tempting lovelies this week. This is definitely one of his best auctions this week. New dayllies mixed with his sale. Everything is so tempting.
I would buy from other sellers as well but once I have paid that shipping price with one seller, I tend to stay with that seller for as long as the seller keeps adding new plants. Shipping prices have gone up recently, unfortunately, and the extra cost mounts up over time. It definitely is a factor in my bidding decisions. The same with seed buying costs. I have half dozen seed sellers, I tend to order from all Winter, because I can carry over my shipping costs from week to week. Otherwise, it can be very expensive. Last year, I won 9 plants from Nicole(NDL). And btw, Nicole sends the biggest and largest fans on the LA...with always extra fans, and outrageous gifts(bonus plants). Some of her plants re-bloomed for me within 2 weeks of being planted in my garden!! Her plants are giants. This year, I haven't ordered from Nicole, mainly because of the shipping prices, and because I started bidding with other sellers first, carrying over those shipping costs. If I waited several years, I could pick up these daylilies for a much cheaper price. But at my age, well, why wait. I already have tons of exciting seedlings coming along as well. This will be my first year at hybridizing as well. So next year, I will not be buying so many plants. I have so much to do, and a short growing season to get it all done. Last summer was such a tease because the weather was so hot and the growing season extended well into October. I had many plants with oodles of buds on them before the first frost hit.
I have noticed lately a ton of 'newbies' bidding on the LA. Maybe, it's because Spring is coming here in the Northeast or maybe it's because of the sales, or maybe it's a new generation of gardeners who have been bitten by the passion for growing daylilies. The Lily Auction offers them a tempting place to satisfy there passion and needs. It's a wonderful site.
